This invention relates to cameras and more particularly to an automatic film charging apparatus of a camera.
In a conventional automatic film charged camera using a roll film of a width of 35 mm. or the like, a film housing chamber charged with a film magazine and a winding chamber having a film spool have been provided in the camera body. That is to say, as an example is shown in FIG. 12, a camera body 101 fitted in the center of the front surface with a lens barrel 102 having a photographing lens 103 is provided on the left and right holding a photographing light path between them respectively with a film housing chamber 105 to be charged with a film magazine (film patrone) 104 and a film winding chamber 107 provided with a spool for winding up a film so that a roll film 110 pulled out of the film magazine 104 may be stretched across a film aperture window (an opening defining the photographed picture) provided to correspond to the photographing lens 103 and then may be wound up on the above-mentioned spool 106. The camera body 101 is covered on the back surface side with a back lid 108 so as to be free to open and close and further a shutter unit 109 is provided just in front of the film aperture window.
At the time of charging the camera with a film, when the camera user opens the back lid 108, mounts in a designated position of the spool 106 the tip of the film leader part of the film magazine set within the film housing chamber 105 and closes the back lid 108, the film will be automatically vacantly fed from the leader part to the first frame and the first picture will be able to be taken.
Now, in the above-mentioned conventional camera wherein the film housing chamber and film feeding chamber are on the camera body side, the lateral width of the camera must be long and the portability is not good. Therefore, in order to make it more portable, it is considered to reduce the lateral width of the camera. As a means of practicing it, it is suggested to provide the film housing chamber on the camera body side and provide the film winding chamber on the back lid side in the rear of the film aperture window.
However, if the film winding chamber is arranged on the back lid side of the camera, in the mechanism of the camera, the film winding chamber will expose on the camera body side only the film tip inserting port, the spool will not be seen from outside and therefore, in charging the camera with a film, the user will insert the tip of the film leader part into the film inserting port and then will close the back lid. However, this operation has problems that, as it can not be confirmed whether the film leader part is positively wound up on the spool, there will be much anxiety and the possibility of the film vacant feeding failure will be high.